Threat against Sen. Marco Rubio under investigation, his office says

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is the target of a threat deemed credible enough to merit police protection in Washington, D.C., and at his home in West Miami, his office said late Tuesday.

The freshman senator rocketed to national political stardom in recent weeks as he jumped to the top of the shortlist of potential running mates for presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. From CNN to The Daily Show, Rubio has become a staple of cable-news chatter about whether Romney will offer him the spot — and whether he would take it.

But the fame has made him not just a magnet for support and criticism, but now the target of a threat.

Rubio’s office said no additional information about the threat would be released for now. The U.S. Capitol Police and the West Miami Police Department are providing security and investigating.

Neither agency could be reached for an official comment.

A police cruiser was parked in front of Rubio’s West Miami home Tuesday night. The senator was not home; he is scheduled to deliver a foreign policy speech Wednesday at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

If Rubio became Romney’s running mate, he would receive around-the-clock protection from the U.S. Secret Service.